Season 1
|
Season 2
|
AMERICAN STRAYS - the series - available as a feature on Life With Dogs TV
Season 1 x 16 episodes aired
Season 2 The "FIX" x 3 episodes aired of 16 ordered
SYNOPSIS: American Strays rips open the burgeoning animal rescue/rights/welfare business at work in the United States enveloping viewers in the experience as we dig in and explore the many issues facing a community's people and its leadership. From the inside out join us in the trenches of a city at the forefront of the highly contentious battleground that is the global stray dog issue; Detroit.
This is a compelling compilation of tales that encapsulate Detroit's stray dog issue and convey the impact of this problem on people's lives. These are true life stories of people interacting with animals; protecting, abusing, rescuing, rehabilitating and documenting. You'll be introduced to the major animal welfare players in Detroit including The Michigan Humane Society, Michigan Anti-Cruelty Society and Detroit Animal Control, all who have joined forces with the World Animal Awareness Society (WA2S) to share their stories as they count the dogs. The WA2S molds strategic alliances with these agencies in order to uncover all sides of the stray dog issue with the unbiased lens they are known for. From organization heads to postal workers all points of view are presented. Running parallel with these stories you'll find yourself drawn in by the free-roaming canine census administered by WA2S and executed with them by 13 citizen scientists. Partnered with Michigan State University & D3 – Data
Driven Detroit, they are determined to scientifically calculate the true number of stray dogs in Detroit. Things get heated when this census challenges the 50,000-100,000 stray dogs that Detroit Dog Rescue claims exist. As this story of stray dogs in Detroit unfolds you'll understand how this problem is not one owned by this city – it is happening worldwide.
TREATMENT: American Strays is an unsettling vérité documentary that begins to unravel the perplexing and persistent problem of stray dogs in Detroit. During a two year period accounts of abandonment, dog fighting, rescues and rehabilitation unfolded to our cameras while carefully crafted vignettes immerse viewers in every vein of the issue. Director Tom McPhee is allowed to embed with The Michigan Humane Society in order to capture an unprecedented look at the issues. Emotionally charged and gripping stories of tragedy and hope allow insight to be gained leading viewers to understand the impact of this problem on the city and its residents.
Detroit, Michigan is the setting for a battle-royal of animal rescue government & non-governmental organizations. Detroit, once the fifth largest city in the United States, has lost more than a million of its population during the past 60 years; covers a land mass larger than Manhattan, Boston and San Francisco combined; holds more than 70,000 burned-out, empty, opened-to-the-elements homes; accounts for an illiteracy rate greater than 50 percent; and is about to become insolvent. It is now said Detroit has a stray dog population between 50,000 and 100,000 animals that is causing new “dangerous and expensive health & safety problems for a city already on the brink.”
The film’s subjects work at rescuing animals in the city of Detroit. One, founded by local Rapper Daniel HUSH Carlisle, Detroit Dog Rescue (DDR) was born during the winter of 2011 amongst the ashes of his shut-down Discovery Channel TV show “A Dogs Life." The city denied the production company filming permits due to an expectation of negative stereotyping. When DDR filmed and released a video of a starving stray dog eating another dead dog on the streets of Detroit, it quickly went viral on the internet. With no prior dog rescue experience, HUSH and DDR's quickly growing legions, stated that “50,000 to 100,000 strays were roaming the streets of Detroit” and took a musicians-street-team mentality to the airways, raised tens of thousands of dollars and started the business of rescuing stray dogs and launching a campaign to build Detroit's first no-kill animal shelter. Since then, DDR raised $1.5 million dollars for the shelter from an anonymous donor after being in
existence for only 9 months and appears to be achieving dramatic results and receiving kudos on local and network Television for their work in the field - due in part to a relentless DDR public relations campaign, and a growing base of supporters who mimic the DDR message through social marketing. DDR, however, is in peril of being indicted, raided, shut-down, sued and jailed by local and state authorities.
Another, The Michigan Humane Society, is led by veteran animal rescuer Debby MacDonald (Animal Planet's, Animal Cops – Detroit), Chief Investigator for the Michigan Humane Society (MHS) Cruelty Investigation Department and Facility Director for the MHS Detroit Center for Animal Care, has seen everything during her decades of service. Debby leads a critical department for an organization that's been working at the human-animal intersection in Michigan for more than 130 years. MHS has set policy, created laws and forged relationships with partner organizations over many decades aimed at stemming the tide of humane animal needs for a decaying community. A relationship between MHS
and the city of Detroit Animal Control (DAC), a city of Detroit Department of Health & Wellness agency, as well as a long standing fuzzy relationship with the Michigan Anti Cruelty Society (MACS) – created an inter-agency equilibrium developed from decades long work these organizations have been doing side by side.
The film's journey follows volunteers surveying Detroit's neighborhoods. Dogman is a colorful character regularly perched on street corners garnering essentials in his shopping cart to which his dog is chained. He is notably recognized for his brilliant toothless smile and dread-locked hairstyle. He never knows where he will sleep but the sign he holds asks for food for his dog. Dog food is also given to Jerry, who keeps 2 dogs with no names. Tee adores her Pit Bull Queenie who just had a litter of puppies but finds it challenging to find homes for them and keep them alive as all but one of the puppies has died.
Penelope's revolution begins when Cathy Gray, President of Refurbished Pets of Southern Michigan spots this pit bull while combing Detroit streets for stray dogs as a volunteer spotter on the census. Penelope is found sick and battered with open sores and twine embedded in her skin. The Michigan Humane Society is called to rescue Penelope and launch her recovery. Cathy feels such a bond with this pit bull, that once MHS nurses her back to health from internal parasites and secondary skin infections caused from mange, she collects Penelope and prepares her to participate in a prison program for which she is administrator. The Florence Crane Lakeland Correctional Facility offers qualified inmates the opportunity to apply to be a dog trainer. Penelope enters the 3 month training program being taught 9 mandatory commands and multitudes of additional tricks. She passed the program with flying colors and is now a “canine good citizen.” This ingenious program builds esteem in both dog and trainer and over 200 heartwarming relationships have been cultivated. Enter the Falzone family. Leo, Christian, Sherry and Vince adopt not only Penelope, but her best buddy Barkley as well. This family lovingly puts the finishing touches on Penelope's revolution, giving her a safe,
caring environment in which to spread her wings.
What happens when a Detroit citizen and a dog rescue organization with allegedly the same goal of rescuing abused and unwanted animals go head to head? Meet Leah Montgomery, a woman devoting her life to taking in any stray or unwanted dog in her Detroit neighborhood. While her home may appear to be abandoned it is far from it, brimming with the activity of her and her 13 dogs. Leah is a gentle soul dedicated to her four-legged family keeping them well fed and loved. She has been known to give up her own food so that a dog can eat. Leah values the relationships she builds with her dogs and just can't say no given the opportunity to save a dog from a worse fate. Nearly 2 years ago DDR (Detroit Dog Rescue) began observing Leah's situation and threatened to have her dogs taken away from her because she was not taking care of them, maintaining that her home is abandoned.
Debby MacDonald views Leah's situation as an opportunity to build a relationship with her in order to aide in managing the sheer number of dogs she rescues. DDR turns vigilante and appears unannounced at Leah's home on May 4th, 2011 to seize her dogs. Violence ensues – dogs baited to fight each other, cops threatening to shoot a dog, doors and windows demolished; Leah, agitated to the point of an asthma attack would stay to fight for her dogs. Despite her efforts to the contrary, DDR left with 28 of her beloved dogs. They returned 3 dogs a few days later and forced Leah to sign a surrender receipt for the dogs they took earlier, which she signed under the duress of the 3 returned dogs being killed. Heartbroken, Leah sees some of her stolen dogs on the Wags to Wishes website. She only wants the dogs returned that were taken from her by an organization who entered her home illegally and caused massive destruction to it. To date Leah is still waiting for a court date and may be
looking for a new lawyer to lead her fight against DDR.
Sorrow and anguish are the emotions reflected in Detroit citizens' faces when they surrender their pets to the shelter, which happens on a daily basis. MHS will not turn away any animal so residents are motivated to surrender them as opposed to evicting them to the streets to an unknown fate. Madinah Heard took in a cute puppy but within 3 days he experienced 8 seizures and racked up $400 in medical bills. Madinah reluctantly realized that she did not have the means to take care of this sick puppy, so she surrendered him to MHS. Prentis Zerks found a dog in his garage and surrendered him. Omaira Gonzalez fed a stray dog for months before surrendering him. An overwhelming problem in Detroit is the inability to take care of pets financially. Curt & K-9 reveal their heart wrenching story of surrender due to illness. K-9 is diagnosed with a slim chance of surviving the heart worm disease that has afflicted him and Curt can't afford the treatment on the off chance that it will cure his long-time companion. MHS will euthanize K-9 at no cost to Curt.
Leave it to full-time college students and workers Jessica Petty and Stephanie Birrell to take into their own hands documentation of dogs killed on the highways of Detroit. Affectionately dubbed The Highway Girls, Jessica and Stephanie identify a problem in their daily highway travels that they feel inspired to investigate. The girls gather data on each deceased dog they find including distinguishing marks, whether they have a collar and are well-groomed, male/female, spayed/neutered, and cause of death. Some are bait dogs that have been dumped; some have been hit by cars. They are working to create statistics with their data and to determine trends. Are highway deaths random? Is there a pattern? Can anything be done to reduce the risk of these heartbreaking deaths? These are the questions The Highway Girls are hoping to answer.
As a microcosm of the global issue of stray dogs and a fascinating journey through the streets of Detroit, American Strays will engage and enlighten viewers about this controversial and transcendent concern.
Season 1 x 16 episodes aired
Season 2 The "FIX" x 3 episodes aired of 16 ordered
SYNOPSIS: American Strays rips open the burgeoning animal rescue/rights/welfare business at work in the United States enveloping viewers in the experience as we dig in and explore the many issues facing a community's people and its leadership. From the inside out join us in the trenches of a city at the forefront of the highly contentious battleground that is the global stray dog issue; Detroit.
This is a compelling compilation of tales that encapsulate Detroit's stray dog issue and convey the impact of this problem on people's lives. These are true life stories of people interacting with animals; protecting, abusing, rescuing, rehabilitating and documenting. You'll be introduced to the major animal welfare players in Detroit including The Michigan Humane Society, Michigan Anti-Cruelty Society and Detroit Animal Control, all who have joined forces with the World Animal Awareness Society (WA2S) to share their stories as they count the dogs. The WA2S molds strategic alliances with these agencies in order to uncover all sides of the stray dog issue with the unbiased lens they are known for. From organization heads to postal workers all points of view are presented. Running parallel with these stories you'll find yourself drawn in by the free-roaming canine census administered by WA2S and executed with them by 13 citizen scientists. Partnered with Michigan State University & D3 – Data
Driven Detroit, they are determined to scientifically calculate the true number of stray dogs in Detroit. Things get heated when this census challenges the 50,000-100,000 stray dogs that Detroit Dog Rescue claims exist. As this story of stray dogs in Detroit unfolds you'll understand how this problem is not one owned by this city – it is happening worldwide.
TREATMENT: American Strays is an unsettling vérité documentary that begins to unravel the perplexing and persistent problem of stray dogs in Detroit. During a two year period accounts of abandonment, dog fighting, rescues and rehabilitation unfolded to our cameras while carefully crafted vignettes immerse viewers in every vein of the issue. Director Tom McPhee is allowed to embed with The Michigan Humane Society in order to capture an unprecedented look at the issues. Emotionally charged and gripping stories of tragedy and hope allow insight to be gained leading viewers to understand the impact of this problem on the city and its residents.
Detroit, Michigan is the setting for a battle-royal of animal rescue government & non-governmental organizations. Detroit, once the fifth largest city in the United States, has lost more than a million of its population during the past 60 years; covers a land mass larger than Manhattan, Boston and San Francisco combined; holds more than 70,000 burned-out, empty, opened-to-the-elements homes; accounts for an illiteracy rate greater than 50 percent; and is about to become insolvent. It is now said Detroit has a stray dog population between 50,000 and 100,000 animals that is causing new “dangerous and expensive health & safety problems for a city already on the brink.”
The film’s subjects work at rescuing animals in the city of Detroit. One, founded by local Rapper Daniel HUSH Carlisle, Detroit Dog Rescue (DDR) was born during the winter of 2011 amongst the ashes of his shut-down Discovery Channel TV show “A Dogs Life." The city denied the production company filming permits due to an expectation of negative stereotyping. When DDR filmed and released a video of a starving stray dog eating another dead dog on the streets of Detroit, it quickly went viral on the internet. With no prior dog rescue experience, HUSH and DDR's quickly growing legions, stated that “50,000 to 100,000 strays were roaming the streets of Detroit” and took a musicians-street-team mentality to the airways, raised tens of thousands of dollars and started the business of rescuing stray dogs and launching a campaign to build Detroit's first no-kill animal shelter. Since then, DDR raised $1.5 million dollars for the shelter from an anonymous donor after being in
existence for only 9 months and appears to be achieving dramatic results and receiving kudos on local and network Television for their work in the field - due in part to a relentless DDR public relations campaign, and a growing base of supporters who mimic the DDR message through social marketing. DDR, however, is in peril of being indicted, raided, shut-down, sued and jailed by local and state authorities.
Another, The Michigan Humane Society, is led by veteran animal rescuer Debby MacDonald (Animal Planet's, Animal Cops – Detroit), Chief Investigator for the Michigan Humane Society (MHS) Cruelty Investigation Department and Facility Director for the MHS Detroit Center for Animal Care, has seen everything during her decades of service. Debby leads a critical department for an organization that's been working at the human-animal intersection in Michigan for more than 130 years. MHS has set policy, created laws and forged relationships with partner organizations over many decades aimed at stemming the tide of humane animal needs for a decaying community. A relationship between MHS
and the city of Detroit Animal Control (DAC), a city of Detroit Department of Health & Wellness agency, as well as a long standing fuzzy relationship with the Michigan Anti Cruelty Society (MACS) – created an inter-agency equilibrium developed from decades long work these organizations have been doing side by side.
The film's journey follows volunteers surveying Detroit's neighborhoods. Dogman is a colorful character regularly perched on street corners garnering essentials in his shopping cart to which his dog is chained. He is notably recognized for his brilliant toothless smile and dread-locked hairstyle. He never knows where he will sleep but the sign he holds asks for food for his dog. Dog food is also given to Jerry, who keeps 2 dogs with no names. Tee adores her Pit Bull Queenie who just had a litter of puppies but finds it challenging to find homes for them and keep them alive as all but one of the puppies has died.
Penelope's revolution begins when Cathy Gray, President of Refurbished Pets of Southern Michigan spots this pit bull while combing Detroit streets for stray dogs as a volunteer spotter on the census. Penelope is found sick and battered with open sores and twine embedded in her skin. The Michigan Humane Society is called to rescue Penelope and launch her recovery. Cathy feels such a bond with this pit bull, that once MHS nurses her back to health from internal parasites and secondary skin infections caused from mange, she collects Penelope and prepares her to participate in a prison program for which she is administrator. The Florence Crane Lakeland Correctional Facility offers qualified inmates the opportunity to apply to be a dog trainer. Penelope enters the 3 month training program being taught 9 mandatory commands and multitudes of additional tricks. She passed the program with flying colors and is now a “canine good citizen.” This ingenious program builds esteem in both dog and trainer and over 200 heartwarming relationships have been cultivated. Enter the Falzone family. Leo, Christian, Sherry and Vince adopt not only Penelope, but her best buddy Barkley as well. This family lovingly puts the finishing touches on Penelope's revolution, giving her a safe,
caring environment in which to spread her wings.
What happens when a Detroit citizen and a dog rescue organization with allegedly the same goal of rescuing abused and unwanted animals go head to head? Meet Leah Montgomery, a woman devoting her life to taking in any stray or unwanted dog in her Detroit neighborhood. While her home may appear to be abandoned it is far from it, brimming with the activity of her and her 13 dogs. Leah is a gentle soul dedicated to her four-legged family keeping them well fed and loved. She has been known to give up her own food so that a dog can eat. Leah values the relationships she builds with her dogs and just can't say no given the opportunity to save a dog from a worse fate. Nearly 2 years ago DDR (Detroit Dog Rescue) began observing Leah's situation and threatened to have her dogs taken away from her because she was not taking care of them, maintaining that her home is abandoned.
Debby MacDonald views Leah's situation as an opportunity to build a relationship with her in order to aide in managing the sheer number of dogs she rescues. DDR turns vigilante and appears unannounced at Leah's home on May 4th, 2011 to seize her dogs. Violence ensues – dogs baited to fight each other, cops threatening to shoot a dog, doors and windows demolished; Leah, agitated to the point of an asthma attack would stay to fight for her dogs. Despite her efforts to the contrary, DDR left with 28 of her beloved dogs. They returned 3 dogs a few days later and forced Leah to sign a surrender receipt for the dogs they took earlier, which she signed under the duress of the 3 returned dogs being killed. Heartbroken, Leah sees some of her stolen dogs on the Wags to Wishes website. She only wants the dogs returned that were taken from her by an organization who entered her home illegally and caused massive destruction to it. To date Leah is still waiting for a court date and may be
looking for a new lawyer to lead her fight against DDR.
Sorrow and anguish are the emotions reflected in Detroit citizens' faces when they surrender their pets to the shelter, which happens on a daily basis. MHS will not turn away any animal so residents are motivated to surrender them as opposed to evicting them to the streets to an unknown fate. Madinah Heard took in a cute puppy but within 3 days he experienced 8 seizures and racked up $400 in medical bills. Madinah reluctantly realized that she did not have the means to take care of this sick puppy, so she surrendered him to MHS. Prentis Zerks found a dog in his garage and surrendered him. Omaira Gonzalez fed a stray dog for months before surrendering him. An overwhelming problem in Detroit is the inability to take care of pets financially. Curt & K-9 reveal their heart wrenching story of surrender due to illness. K-9 is diagnosed with a slim chance of surviving the heart worm disease that has afflicted him and Curt can't afford the treatment on the off chance that it will cure his long-time companion. MHS will euthanize K-9 at no cost to Curt.
Leave it to full-time college students and workers Jessica Petty and Stephanie Birrell to take into their own hands documentation of dogs killed on the highways of Detroit. Affectionately dubbed The Highway Girls, Jessica and Stephanie identify a problem in their daily highway travels that they feel inspired to investigate. The girls gather data on each deceased dog they find including distinguishing marks, whether they have a collar and are well-groomed, male/female, spayed/neutered, and cause of death. Some are bait dogs that have been dumped; some have been hit by cars. They are working to create statistics with their data and to determine trends. Are highway deaths random? Is there a pattern? Can anything be done to reduce the risk of these heartbreaking deaths? These are the questions The Highway Girls are hoping to answer.
As a microcosm of the global issue of stray dogs and a fascinating journey through the streets of Detroit, American Strays will engage and enlighten viewers about this controversial and transcendent concern.